July 21, 2005

FIRST SQUEEZE OF THE DAY

THE B.I.G. SCREENWith rights to the life story of Notorious B.I.G. secured, Fox Searchlight has hired journalist Cheo Hodari Coker to write a biopic of the slain rapper to be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Barrow already knows that a huge obstacle in the project will be casting. "The most important element to casting B.I.G. is what we consider the swagger," Barrow said. "They have to have the element of the man and be able to capture the essence of who he was and his maneuvering, his relishings of life. You can't instill this in an individual -- you just have to have it."THE TOO BUTCH CASSIDYCassidy remains in a Philadelphia jail on murder charges following a request for a bail determination during a preliminary hearing Tuesday, reports MTV. The “I’m A Hustler” rapper has been behind bars since his June 17 arrest for the murder of a 22-year-old man in his native Philadelphia. Cassidy will have to remain in jail for the time being, at least until Aug. 16 when the next hearing in the case has been scheduled.According to an eyewitness, the criminal court judge has ordered ballistics testing on weapons taken during the murder investigation for means of corroborating witness statements. The results from that testing are expected back sometime before Aug. 16.A spokesperson for Cassidy says he’s in "good spirits" and his lawyers "are fighting hard for him."HE AIN'T GOIN NOWHEREHow many of you all read the tabloids? Cause there's some sh*t goin' around that I'm retiring," Eminem told the crowd during his Anger Management 3 set at Washington's White River Amphitheatre. The Detroit rapper was referring to a Detroit Free Press article picked up by MTV that quoted a source in his camp claiming the artist was to retire following a Sept. 17 concert in Dublin, Ireland. The article also said his 2004 album “Encore” was to be his last.A ROLE MODEL OR A MODEL ROLESURE, Gisele Bundchen is gorgeous, but is there anything going on inside that pretty head of hers? Elite Models founder John Casablancas thinks not. He tells Complex magazine that while Bundchen is "the most beautiful model today, I hate to say it because she has nothing to say from an intellectual point of view. No contribution to make to the human cause. She is an empty shell, one big void as a person. But as a model she is exciting and interesting."A WORLD OF TROUBLELil' Kim's former boyfriend, Damion "World" Hardy and members of his crew were indicted yesterday on federal charges of alleged drug dealing and murders.According to prosecutors, Hardy and his Cash Money Brothers clique (CMB) allegedly sold cocaine in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn's Lafayette Gardens and allegedly killed five people over the last decade. If convicted, Hardy, 30, and 12 of his associates face the death penalty or life in prison.Hardy, aka World, dated Kim back in 2003 and is a suspect in the shooting in which 50 CENT and his crew were shot at outside a New Jersey DoubleTree Hotel. The incident reportedly took place hours after 50 dissed Kim during an appearance on FUNKMASTER FLEX show on New York's Hot 97. Last year, World appeared on Wendy Williams' show on New York's WBLS. In the cryptic and controversial interview, he blasted the music industry as a secret of society of homosexuals.